Everyone has standards. Whether you are buying a car or choosing a college to attend, you have standards which you consider acceptable for your life.

 Did you know there are also standards for charities which measure their performance? These standards have become increasingly important, especially after recent high-profile charity scandals.

Trust is the lifeblood of charities. The single greatest threat to charities from effectively serving their communities is the loss of public confidence. Many charities are seeking ways to assure their giving public that one bad apple does not spoil the barrel. The Charities Review Council’s Accountability Standards are one way to help charities demonstrate their trustworthiness to the giving public.

The Council’s Accountability Standards consists of 27 standards, which addresses a charity performance in four critical areas: public disclosure, governance, financial activity, and fundraising. Adherence to the Council’s Accountability Standards is an indication that a charity has taken steps to align its policies and procedures with commonly accepted accountability standards. The Council’s standards have evolved over its 60 years, with broad participation from Minnesota’s nonprofit and philanthropic communities. In the Council’s opinion, the standards represent reasonable measures of accountability. 

The Council’s Accountability Wizard applies these standards to conduct public charity reviews that help charities demonstrate their integrity to the public. These public reviews evaluate a charity’s performance to ensure that its operations, structure and policies meet widely accepted standards for accountability and transparency. The results of these voluntary charity reviews help the public determine the trustworthiness of a charity before giving. Results of the public reviews are posted online and provided to the public at no cost. Charities that meet all of the Council’s Accountability Standards are granted the use of the Council’s “Meets Standards” seal. The Council’s “Meets Standards” seal provides a public, concise and accessible indicator of a charity’s commitment to accountable and ethical practices. To date, more than 400 charities have demonstrated their commitment to openness by voluntarily participating in these public reviews.

A charitable organization exists to serve the public good. Charities depend on the financial support of donors like you to pursue their public missions. Donors have the right to expect that the charities they support will operate responsibly and will use the bulk of the gifts for the purposes for which they were given. By working together and demanding accountability of the nonprofit sector, we can help charities advance their important work of serving the community and encourage greater confidence in giving.